Moving to Holyoke in March 2022 "to slow things down" after faster-paced living in Commerce City, Robert Corrado did not intend to become a sheriff's deputy; he simply planned on ordering a concealed-carry permit. Then Thom Elliott, the late Phillips County sheriff, arrived for the delivery.

Corrado had been working for the Comcast Corporation in a job that required he make a multi-hour trek to Denver for four days a week. He wanted to find work "closer to home" and, after meeting Elliott and getting to know him, considered a new option.

"My wife showed me the ad for patrol deputy in The Holyo...